“Dario’s so right,” Emmanuelle agreed, blowing a kiss Dario’s way. “I didn’t check on the brothers yet, because I had Constantine call them and ask them to come to the hotel for a meeting before they did anything stupid. I can hear lies. When they talk to Babell, who is quite nice, I’ll know their intentions. If either of them is here to carry out the instructions to kill Brielle, I’ll bring justice to them.”
Emmanuelle had sounded playful until she delivered her declaration, then she sounded wholly like a Ferraro. She was fierce, a shadow rider, experienced and in control. Brielle knew she was in charge of her husband’s security. Few of his men realized it. Dario still, at times, gave the orders, mostly because in the world Emme now lived in, the women weren’t treated quite the same as the men. Emmanuelle didn’t seem to mind.
“Why doesn’t it bother you?”
“Why doesn’t what bother me?” Emmanuelle echoed.
She sounded serene. Confident in herself and who she was. She didn’t need others to see her as her husband’s equal, or theirs for that matter.
“The men you’re in charge of see you as less than they are. How can you stand that? Especially if you have to give them an order? Why would they obey you promptly if they don’t really respect you?”
Brielle wasn’t trying to stir up problems; she really wanted to know. She knew Elie wouldn’t treat her as less when she was working, but when they played, he would always be in charge. She liked that. Needed it. Had someone other than Dario seen them, would that man have still treated her with respect? She doubted it.
“I know I can wipe up the floor with most men,” Emmanuelle stated. “I’ve trained with my brothers, other riders and Elie. Have you trained with him? He’s so fast, you don’t see him move. Really, Brielle, his hands and feet blur when he comes at you with kicks or punches. He can stand in one place just watching you and then he’s on you and you don’t even know how he moved. I’ve seen him do it when he’s working with my brothers and they’re lightning fast. It’s good to train with him because he brings up your speed.”
“I hate to say this,” Valentino said, “but it’s the truth. I’ve had him spar with me for months now and can’t believe how much faster I’ve gotten and the things I learned from him when I thought I knew so much already.”
“He hits with the power of a fucking freight train,” Dario added. “Sometimes he moves his fist a half an inch and it’s like your entire insides turn to jelly.”
Brielle knew everything they said about Elie was the truth. She had begun to train with him until she had gotten shot. They still meditated together every morning, but training was out until she was completely healed. She was getting anxious that wasn’t going to happen for a while. She’d never had an injury that wasn’t superficial. Not really, not like this.
“I trained with him before this happened to me,” she admitted. “I was getting faster.” She was certain that was the reason she’d lasted longer in the shadows than normal.
Emmanuelle glanced at her watch and then stood up. “I think the Winslow brothers should be here by now. They were meeting Constantine in the lobby. I’ll go on down and see what I can find out.”
“I don’t like you down there by yourself,” Val objected. “Not with three of them.”
“Send the boys down. They can wander around the lobby looking all badass. They live for those moments,” Emmanuelle said, going up on her toes to brush a kiss on her husband’s jaw.
She didn’t wait, but stepped into a streaming shadow. It was a fast one. It yanked her inside and she was gone, disappearing right in front of them. Brielle had been trained from childhood never to allow someone outside the shadow-riding community to have knowledge of what went on in their world, but it was clear that both Dario and Valentino were aware of shadow riders.
“Emmanuelle didn’t tell us,” Val said, watching her closely. “We were watching the Ferraro family for years. The Saldi family and the Ferraro family have been entwined for centuries. Consequently, we have our version of the shadow mysteries. It wasn’t a difficult leap to know the Ferraros were able to use the shadows in some way others couldn’t. We also know the consequences if we don’t stay quiet. I would never betray my wife, or her family. Neither would Dario.”
“It honestly didn’t occur to me that Emmanuelle would ever talk about what her family does. It’s too ingrained in all of us not to. I just couldn’t figure out where both of you came into the picture. Sometimes, I know that even in a marriage, one of the parties doesn’t know everything. Usually, that’s their preference, but over the years, some riders have married outsiders and they were never told.”